Toilet



Juiy 29, 1941. I 2,250,652 I TOILET Filed Feb. 14, 1941 Patented July29,1941

UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE I TOILET Edmund T. Price, San Diego,Calif. 7 Application February 14, 1941, Serial No. 378,902

9 Claims.

This invention relates to toilets, and particularly to those of thecommode type adapted for use where there is no sewer connection; and nowater supply, as in road and air vehicles.

. Heretofore it has been generally customary to employ in road vehiclesand airplanes, chemical toilets consisting, essentially, of some opentopped receptacle containing a disinfecting and deodorizing solution.Such toilets, however, are usually obnoxious to the senses and.very'unpleasant to service and recondition.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toilet adapted forroad and air vehicle use, that is inoffensive to the senses of sight andsmell, both to those using it, and those servicing and maintaining it.

A more specific object is to'provide a dry'toilet, capable of repeateduse, in which matter deposited therein can be retained out of sight, andsealed to prevent dissipation of odors;

Another specific object is to provide a toilet for vehicles, and thelike, of such construction that matter deposited therein can be simplyand easily removed and disposed of without offense to the sight andsmell of the operator.

Other more specific objects and features of the invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description to follow of a preferredembodiment thereof, asillustrated in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is avertical, sectional view of a complete device, in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the replaceable element of the device;and

Fig, 4 is a vertical sectional View, illustrating the operation of thedevice.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device comprises a receptacle I havingclosed bottom and side walls and inwardly projecting flanges at the topconstituting a front shelf 2, a rear shelf 3 and lateral shelves 4 whichdefine a rectangular top opening of reduced dimensions. The shelves 2, 3and 4 support a seat 5 which is connected at its rear edge by a hinge 6to the rear edge of the receptacle I so that it can swing from the lowerposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2 into an elevated position shown in Fig.4.

The structure so far described is of rigid and durable construction andfunctions to support a replaceable multiple compartment bag 1 which isconstructed of some relatively inexpensive water-tight-sheet material,such as waterproof paper.

The bag 1 comprises a pair of rectangular end walls 8 and 9,respectively, and a plurality of intermediate walls H], which ,areinterposed be-v tween the end walls. The end and intermediate walls areinterconnected by foldable'side walls ll and bottom walls .,|2- todefine 'a plurality of compartments. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, theside walls ll maybe folded along a center line l3 and the bottomrwallsI2 may be folded, along their center lines i 4 to form plaits. Thenumber of plaits formed in .each Side wall may vary to permit expansionof each compartment to a length corresponding approximately to the fulllength of the opening in the seat 5. 1 f

To provide for the support and manipulation of the bag I, each oftheendwalls Band 9 and the intermediate walls In are provided: with a flap i5at its upper edge andthe flaps are bent, horizontally into stacksoverlying either the rear shelf 3.0r the front shelf 2 offthereceptacle].

In the particularconstruction shown, when the bag I is initially placedin the receptacle I, all of the flaps I 5 except that attached to theend wall 9 are folded in a single stack on the shelf 3, and'the flapattached to the end wall 9 is folded flat against the shelf 2, therebyopening the first compartment of the bag adjacent to the end wall, 5 andpositioning it below the opening in the seat 5. The flaps l5 aremaintained in flat 1205i: tion on the shelves 3 and 2 by pressure of theseat 5 thereagainst, as shown in Fig. 1. To fa cilitate this retainingaction of the seat, it is desirable to provide on the underside thereofpads l6 of resilient materialpsuch as rubber, to-

' engage against the flaps on both of the shelves 2 and 3, irrespectiveof the number of flaps stacked on each shelf.

Each compartment of the bag 1 is closed after use, by lifting the seat5, (as shown in Fig. 4) lifting the topmost flap Hi from the stack onthe shelf 3, carrying the flap forwardly and folding it down on thestack of flaps resting on the front shelf 2. This movement of the flapI5 collapses the compartment last used into the forward portion of thereceptacle I, and at the same time effectively closes the opening in thecompartment to conceal the contents and prevent the emanation of odorstherefrom.

As shown in Fig. 1, the first three compartments have already been usedand closed, and the fourth compartment is in condition for use. In Fig.4 the fourth compartment is shown in process of being closed, and thefifth compartment is in the process of being opened and positioned foruse.

It may be desirable to coat the flaps l5 with an adhesive, as indicatedat l8, to effectually seal each compartment after use and prevent thedisplacement of the flaps of the used compartments from the stack on theshelf 2.

Obviously, whenever one of the bags I is used up, it may be readilylifted out of the receptacle l and replaced with a new bag. The used bagis sealed and is inoffensive to transport, and may be readily destroyedby incineration.

Although for the purpose of explaining the invention a particularembodiment thereof has been described in considerable detail, it is tobe understood that numerous variations from the exact structure showncan be made without departing from the invention, which is to be limitedonly to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the type described, comprising: a frame means defining anaperture and a multiple compartment bag depending through said aperture,said bag comprising: a pair of opposite end walls normally adjacent toand extending downwardly from opposite edges of said aperture, foldablesides and bottoms interconnecting said end walls and defining therewithan extensible compartment, and means for selectively securing one ofsaid walls adjacent one edge of said aperture and the other walladjacent the other edge of said aperture to distend the sides and bottombetween said walls, whereby they define an open top receptacle.

2. A device as described in claim 1, in which said securing meansincludes extensions on the upper ends of said walls, and means forsecuring said extensions to said frame.

3. A device as described in claim 1, in which said frame defines shelvesat opposite ends of said aperture and said extensions of said wallsconstitute flaps adapted to rest on said shelves, and a seat membermovable into position overlying said frame and adapted to press saidflaps against said shelves.

4. A device of the type described, comprising: frame means defining anaperture, a multiple compartment bag depending through said aperture,said bag including two opposite end walls normally adjacent andextending downwardly fromopposite edges of said aperture, a plurality ofpartition walls positioned between said end walls, foldable sides andbottoms interconnecting the end and partition walls and definingtherewith a plurality of extensible compartments, and means forselectively securing some of said walls adjacent one edge of saidaperture and the remainder of said walls adjacent the other edge of saidaperture, to distend the sides and bottom between a selected pair ofsaid walls, whereby they define an open top receptacle.

5. A device as described in claim 4, in which said securing meansincludes extensions on the upper ends of said walls and means forsecuring said extensions to said frame and to each other.

6. A device as described in claim 4, in which said securing meansincludes extensions on the upper ends of said walls foldable down flatagainst each other to close inactive compartments.

7. A device as described in claim 1, in which said frame means includesflat horizontal surfaces extending away from opposite ends of saidaperture and said securing means includes flaps on the upper ends ofsaid walls adapted to fold fiat and stack on said surfaces, and a seatmember mounted for movement into and out of position overlying the saidframe and said surfaces, for pressing said flaps against said surfaces.

8. A device of the type described, comprising an open top receptacle ofrigid construction having a horizontal rim surface at its upper enddefining a rectangular aperture, a seat hinged for swinging movementdown against said rim, a multiple compartment bag depending through saidaperture into said receptacle, and comprising two opposite end wallsnormally adjacent and extending downwardly from opposite edges of saidaperture and a plurality of partition walls positioned between said endwalls, foldable sides and bottoms interconnecting each adjacent pair ofsaid walls and defining therewith a plurality of expansiblecompartments, said walls having flap extensions on their upper endsadapted to be stacked on said rim at either end of said aper ture, saidseat engaging said flaps and pressing them against said rim to retainthem in position when the seat is resting on said rim.

9. A disposable multiple compartment container, comprising: a pair ofparallel end walls and a plurality of partition walls positioned betweensaid end walls, foldable sides and bottoms interconnecting each adjacentpair of'said walls, said sides and bottoms defining with said walls aplurality of expansible compartments and each of said walls having afoldable flap extending from its upper edge.

EDMUND T. PRICE.

